While the Omaha Public School District is promising bus routes will be covered – but not necessarily on time – parents are saying “better late than never” does not apply here.

That promise came from the OPS Director of Student Transportation.

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But parents say they aren't ready to trust it, because according to them, a late bus isn't much better than no bus at all.

Among those parents is Ricky Smith, who sent us a tongue-in-cheek photo of his son with his thumb out to passing cars – determined to get to 6th grade somehow.

“He's a champ. You know, he's just a character, and so sticking out his thumb and saying, ‘I'll hitchhike to school. I've got to get to school sometime.’”

His parents snapped this photo of the smiling 11-year-old during what's become a morning tradition at 48th and Manderson.

“It's usually a 20 to 30 minute wait and then we take off and just head to school. And then I'm calling my supervisor and letting him know, you know, I'm going to be late,” Ricky Smith says.

Smith hasn't ridden the bus to school once this year so far.

His dad is running for school board, and says it’s not just a logistical issue -- it's about safety

“I'm here on 48th and Manderson. Earlier this summer, a woman was shot right over this hill,” he says.

Neither OPS nor Student Transportation of America officials have said just how many bus routes were late Tuesday.

But Nichelle Pegues says her daughter waited 45 minutes -- and never saw a bus.

And she can't drive her daughter every day, so now the high school junior has missed two days of class.

“I had to go out and pick her up and everything and then bring her back home, but I run a day care and if I have a lot of kids, there's no way I'm going to take all these kids and then pick her up,” she said.

And while OPS leaders say they're on the cusp of a solution, Pegues and Smith are still waiting.

“If it gets better, I'll believe it when I see it,” Pegues said.

We reached out to both OPS and STA to see just how many buses were on time today, and how many were late. STA says nine routes were running behind.

Members of the OPS school board estimate about 3,000 students have been impacted.